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Abia State Governor Alex Otti, during a recent conversation with reporters, revealed that his administration was burdened with a staggering debt of N192.2bn left behind by his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
According to him, Ikpeazu had inherited a debt of N34.5 billion from his predecessor. Otti acknowledged that although some of the debts have been settled, there are still outstanding amounts with exorbitant interest rates. Despite the challenges, Otti emphasized the importance of prudent financial management and expressed confidence in their ability to navigate through these difficulties. He said: “It is tough, but we have to do it. We manage our expenses well and are able to live.” Otti further conveyed his delight that the state was not included in the roster of indebted states recently disclosed by the Debt Management Office. He added, “Opposition said we borrowed N148bn, and we debunked it. We will borrow when the need arises, but for now, we are managing. “I have been consistent with the cost of governance and managing. Borrowing money is not bad, but what you do with the money you borrowed. Where the money for projects I am doing in the state is coming from is my secret. We have been able to manage and cut costs. We are doing financial engineering.” On his payment of pension arrears. Otti said, “We had promised last year to pay off the pension arrears but are saddled with a difficult verification exercise that ended a few weeks ago. “All pensions have been paid as of last Thursday. All the arrears have been taken away. These pensioners who would have been begging for money are now feeding by themselves. “So, we have returned power to these pensioners. 12,500 of them were paid. Going forward, 100% of their entitlement will be paid as and when due. We have always paid 100% salaries. Never again will we have a backlog of pensions, some of which date back to 2014.” Otti conveyed his delight regarding the ongoing work being carried out by mayors at the headquarters of all local government areas in the state. He emphasized that a significant 90% of these headquarters had fallen into a state of disrepair due to negligence from past administrations. On the alleged hijack of LG funds, the governor said, “LG funds can’t be hijacked under my watch. The LGAs are working. It is impossible to hijack the funds under me. Soon, salary arrears of parastatals will be paid as they have been keyed in.”
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